So, it turns out The Wall Street Journal doesn’t have a section in their fine publication devoted to coated components. But here’s the thing – what we do, what you do, it’s a BIG deal. So we’re not going to quit our day jobs, but we monitor what’s going on and post it here on our site. Make sure to bookmark this page, visit often and tell your friends. This is your hub for news and updates for the industry.

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Category: Policy

Opportunity for the U.S. to show how it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions even though it has increased energy production.
Emphasize market-driven climate approach, API urges administration
By Nick Snow OGJ Washington Editor
When Obama administration representatives arrive in Paris for upcoming global climate discussions, they should emphasize the successful market-driven approach that helped the US lead the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while increasing its oil and gas production, the American Petroleum Institute urged.
There should be no place for dogmatic adherence to ideology, API Pres. Jack N. Gerard told reporters in a Nov. 16 teleconference. The US has an opportunity to show how it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions even as it has increased energy production. Our success is driven by investment, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit.
He noted that a new analysis by API, using US Energy Information Administration and World Bank data, finds states could reach

Last Friday the House passed a bill that would repeal the 1975 crude export ban; the bill now goes to the Senate. Jeff Reed from Oil Pro analyzes the factors that led to this vote while providing context around the original EPCA.
Repeal Of Oil Export Ban Passes U.S. House
By: Jeff Reed (Oil Pro)
In a 261 to 159 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives voted early Friday afternoon to repeal the general ban on oil exports imposed in 1975 amid the Arab oil embargo. The bill will now go to the Senate, where its prospects are less certain.
The Genesis Of Fridays Vote
In early September, H.R. 702, sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex), was passed by the House Energy and Power subcommittee by a voice count. The following week, the legislation was taken up and passed by the full Energy and Commerce committee.
This past summer, House Speaker John Boehner pledged his support for ending the ban, saying that he hoped repealing the prohibition would be a key piece of an energy legislation package

A House panel could vote on a measure to lift the ban on U.S. oil exports as early as next week, lobbyists say.
Oil export bill said to be set to move as price fears ease
By: Mark Drajem and Ari Natter
WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) -- Congress is set to begin consideration of a measure to lift the decades-old ban on U.S. crude exports after a government study concluded the move wouldnt raise gasoline prices for consumers, people familiar with the plan said.
A panel in the House of Representatives is planning to vote on a measure to lift the ban, which dates back to the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, as early as next week, according to three lobbyists working on the matter, who asked not to be named because the markup hasnt been announced yet. The full House may vote on it later in September, leaving ahead the more difficult task of gaining enough support for repeal in the Senate, they said.
Repealing the ban has gained new political potency as hydraulic fracturing has triggered a boom in

API President Jack Gerard believes there is enough support in Congress to repeal the crude oil export ban.
Oil export boosters have votes to prevail on Capitol Hill, industry leader boasts
By: Jennifer A. Dlouhy (mySA)
WASHINGTON There is enough support in the House and Senate to overturn the nations longstanding ban on crude exports, a top oil industry leader predicted Tuesday.
There is a growing consensus this is a relic of the past, that it needs to be repealed, it needs to be changed, said American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard. Right now, its just a question of finding the right vehicle and moving it forward.
Lawmakers recently have eyed unrelated legislation including a recent Defense Department authorization bill as a possible avenue for lifting the oil export restrictions imposed in the wake of the 1973 OPEC oil embargo.
Although votes were abandoned as part of the defense bill, export advocates say they are looking for other opportunities to advance the change.
I

Kyle Isakower of Gazette Xtra gives his take on the benefits of lifting the fracking and export bans.
Pro: Lifting bans on fracking, exports will add many jobs, save consumers billions
By: Kyle Isakower (Gazette Xtra)
EDITORS NOTE: The writer is addressing the question, Are restrictions on fracking and oil exports stifling American prosperity?
If Texas were a nation, it would be the No. 3 dry natural gas producer in the worldahead of Iran, China and Saudi Arabia.
Eight individual states now each produce over 3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, which would rank them among the worlds top 30 producing countries.
In oil production, two U.S. statesTexas and North Dakotawould rank among the top 20 nations in the world. Four additional statesAlaska, California, New Mexico and Oklahomamake the top 35.
In other words, the United States is now a global energy superpower, and even individual states are now global leaders in their own right.
This growth is paying off for American

Much of the talk surrounding the crude export ban has focused on large domestic proudcers but several small firms recently told the House Small Business Committee that they would benefit as well.
Ending oil export ban could help little guys, too, small businesses tell House committee
By: Jennifer A. Dlouhy
WASHINGTON The campaign to export U.S. crude has been dominated by large domestic producers hoping to fetch higher oil prices, but on Wednesday, the spotlight was on small businesses with income tied to domestic oil development.
Representatives of those firms, including Roswell, New Mexico-based Read and Stevens, told the House Small Business Committee that overseas oil sales would help sustain their firms, by modestly lifting domestic crude prices.
The current depressed oil price and the associated cutback in drilling new wells which would create new revenue for us has had a very strong adverse impact on our financial situation, said Rory McMinn, president of Read and Stevens,

Chris Lafakis of Moodys Analytics gives his argument for lifting the crude export ban and building more pipelines that would pipe oil from the middle of the country to coastal refineries.
Lift oil-export ban and build more pipelines
By: Chris Lafakis (Philly.com)
The U.S. shale revolution has created jobs, improved the balance of trade, spurred billions of dollars of both foreign and domestic investment, reduced carbon emissions, and lowered oil and gas prices. And from the shale gas fields in Williamsport to the refineries in the Philadelphia region, new energy technologies have had a profound local impact. This revolution could do even more if the United States allowed crude oil exports and expanded its pipeline system.
There has been a ban on U.S. crude oil exports since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, though domestic refiners are free to export gasoline and other petroleum products. Lifting this ban would amplify the benefits of the energy revolution at little cost.
However, removing

A recent study by Harvard Business School and Boston Consulting Group concluded that lifting the U.S. fracking boom would add billions to the economy, create jobs, and give the U.S. more influence overseas.
U.S. should ditch outdated oil export ban - Harvard
By: Richard Valdmanis (Reuters)
BOSTON, June 10 The United States must lift anoutdated ban on oil exports to take full economic andgeopolitical advantage of its hydraulic fracturing boom,according to a study by Harvard Business School and BostonConsulting Group released on Wednesday.
Lifting the 40 year-old ban imposed after the Arab oilembargo and easing restrictions on liquefied natural gas exportterminals would add $23 billion to the economy by 2030, createtens of thousands of jobs, and provide the United States withadditional clout overseas, the paper said.
Our energy resources have given the U.S. important newdiplomatic tools that can aid allies and counteract the abilityof unfriendly countries to use oil and gas access

The economic benefits of exporting crude oil seem obvious, but Forbes Jude Clemente weighs in on how adequate energy supplies can solve major problems in undeveloped countries.
Exporting U.S. Crude Oil is a Moral Obligation
By: Jude Clemente (Forbes)
CO2 is not emitted in a socioeconomic vacuum. CO2 is emitted as the inevitable by-product of combusting fossil fuels, sources that makeup 85% of the worlds energy economy. We must therefore strike a balance in the equation both an assessment of the dangers posed to the atmosphere by CO2 emissions and the powerful benefits created by the energy usage that results in these emissions. Through much of the 20th and now the 21st centuries, the ascension from poverty begins as countries build electricity networks based on fossil fuels and construct extensive petroleum-based transportation infrastructure. These systems achieve immense economies of scale that provide immense amounts of energy at low cost. Such abundant and reliable supplies of

Kyle Isakower of the American Petroleum Institue weighs in on the benefits of lifting the fracking and export bans.
Lifting bans on fracking, exports will add many jobs, save consumers billions
By: Kyle Isakower (The Bellingham Herald)
If Texas were a nation, it would be the No. 3 dry natural gas producer in the world - ahead of Iran, China and Saudi Arabia.
Eight individual states now each produce over 3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, which would rank them among the worlds top 30 producing countries.
In oil production, two U.S. states - Texas and North Dakota - would rank among the top 20 nations in the world. Four additional states - Alaska, California, New Mexico and Oklahoma - make the top 35.
In other words, the United States is now a global energy superpower, and even individual states are now global leaders in their own right.
This growth is paying off for American families and businesses. The abundance of affordable energy has lowered costs for many businesses,

A new report by the EPA is causing lawmakers to call for fracking bans to be rescinded in some states.
EPA declares no widespread harm to drinking water from fracking, boosting industry
By: Fox News
Fracking supporters were boosted Thursday by a new Environmental Protection Agency report finding the controversial oil-and-gas extraction process has not caused widespread harm to drinking water.
The findings were contained in a draft assessment, as part of a report requested by Congress.
The report said the agency did not find evidence that any process has led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.
The agency did say the controversial drilling technique could affect drinking water if safeguards arent maintained. It found specific instances where poorly constructed drilling wells and improper wastewater management affected drinking water resources.
But the EPA also reported the number of cases was small compared with the large number of wells

Workers in right-to-work states could face challenges with unions stemming from recent discussions by the NLRB.
Deceptive assault: Obama NLRB seeks to gut right-to-work laws, say critics
By: Perry Chiaramonte (Fox News)
Opponents of Big Labor complained to lawmakers Wednesday that the Obama administrations National Labor Relations Board is poised to gut right-to-work laws with a seemingly simple tweak they claim could leave independent workers at the mercy of the unions they rejected.
The board is considering requiring non-union workers who work at unionized companies - something that can only happen in the 25 so-called right-to-work states - to pay fees to unions in order to file workplace grievances. That, complained Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Committee, gives the unions, who control the grievance process, too much power over workers who opted out.
History has shown that union officials all too often initiate on-the-job discrimination, which forces a worker

Lobbyists pushing to lift the U.S. ban on oil exports received a boost recently when Fred Upton voiced his support to end the four-decade-old restriction.
House Energy Panel Chairman Endorses Lifting Oil Export Limits
By: Jim Snyder (Bloomberg)
The chairman of the House energy committee said oil exports would help U.S. consumers and allies, an endorsement that may help the industrys lobbying push to end four-decade-old restrictions on overseas sales.
Its time that Congress considers revising the ban on crude oil exports, Representative Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said at a hearing on Tuesday. Oil exports can be a win for the American people and a win for our allies.
Previously, Upton has only said lifting the ban deserved consideration. Upton joins his Senate counterpart, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, in his support for ending the four-decade old ban on most oil exports, which Congress put in place after the Arab oil embargo

Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee discusses the pitfalls of the current Social Security system along with ideas to improve it.
Huckabee: Time to Change Social Security
By: FOXBusiness
In an interview on FOX Business Networks Cavuto: Coast to Coast in Florida today, Presidential hopeful and former Governor Mike Huckabee from Arkansas sounded off on social security.
I think a lot of people dont know that 60 million Americans are getting social security, says Huckabee. If you start telling them, by the way, we lied to you, we took the money all those years that you worked, you didnt have any say in it, we involuntarily extracted it from your pay and told you it was going to be there, but we didnt do a good job of taking care of it.
Huckabee says lets grow the economy, theres an idea for you. And lets change the manner in which you fund social security.
To read the rest of this article, visit FOXBusiness.

Randall Luthi of Beltway Insiders weighs in on Shells plans to begin Arctic oil and natural gas exploration.
The Arctic Myth | Commentary
By: Roll Call
Americas economic future depends on energy. I have often been critical of Congress and the Obama administration for not doing enough to secure our energy future, but I am pleased to give credit where credit is due. The administration got it right with the recent announcement from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conditionally approving Shells Application for Permit to Drill in the Chukchi Sea. Predictably, however, the announcement triggered a torrent of teeth gnashing, including a short-sighted and alarmist letter written by 18 senators from the presidents own party and the ranting and raving of extreme environmental groups about the destruction of the Arctic due to oil and gas exploration.
Its well past time to take a close look at the Arctic Myth that this group of senators and others are continuing to put forward as fact,

Lee Tillman of Marathon weighs in on the current U.S. crude export ban.
OTC Commentary: Marathon CEO says U.S. crude oil policies are antiquated
By: Lee Tillman (Fuel Fix)
The 2015 Offshore Technology Conference is set against a backdrop of a significant commodity price correction and the associated uncertainty. As weve all been reminded recently, the only certainty in our business is that we work in a cyclical, commodity industry and that low oil prices, as much as high oil prices, are a fact of life. Effectively managing through any commodity price cycle demands careful, focused decision making that addresses both near- and long-term considerations.
Ten years ago it was unthinkable that America could achieve energy security and be poised to become a net energy exporter. The unprecedented growth in shale energy complimented by the resurgence of the Gulf of Mexico has re-shaped the global energy supply picture. The shale revolution has been among the greatest achievements in the history

At CERAWeek, several shale CEOs called for crude export bans to be lifted.
CERAWeek: Regulatory hurdles still threaten US shale, CEOs say
By: Matt Zborowski (OGJ)
Leaders of prominent US shale producers came together on Apr. 21 to drive home whats emerged as a primary theme during this years IHS CERAWeek in Houston: The urgent need to lift the export ban on US crude oil.
Its time to give the green light to US oil exports, stated John Hess, chief executive officer of Hess Corp., during an upstream panel discussion alongside two other prominent US-based chief executives.
Hess emphasized that the US already exports high quantities of petroleum products3.8 million b/d in 2014 according to the US Energy Information Administrationso why not crude?
Mexico and Canada export crude, he said. Why not the US?
Harold Hamm, chief executive officer of Continental Resources Inc., echoed those sentiments, but thinks its going to take a while to change the mindset of Americans from one of scarcity

HB 40 passed through the Texas House of Representatives which will diminish local fracking bans.
Texas House approves bill that limits city bans on fracking
By: Marice Ritcher (Reuters)
DALLAS (Reuters) - A bill that would stop Texas cities from enacting their own bans on hydraulic fracturing in the nations top crude oil and natural gas producing state was approved on Friday in the state House of Representatives.
The bill bars cities from overly regulating the industry, targeting a ban on fracking, a method of extracting oil and gas that uses high pressure, adopted by voters in Denton, Texas, a college town about 30 miles (50 km) north of Dallas.
Representatives voted 122-18 to advance the bill. The Texas Senate has yet to vote on a similar bill.
The bill, which had more than 70 co-sponsors, is one of several introduced in response to Dentons ban and moves by other cities to impose drilling and fracking restrictions the industry sees as overly burdensome and costly.
Denton sits

California-based water technology company is calling on state lawmakers to take the necessary actions in dealing with an impending water scarcity crisis.
Xylem Inc. calls for increased investment in drought-mitigation technologies
By: Xylem Inc.
MIRA LOMA, Calif., Apr 01, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Xylem Inc. (XYL, -0.19%) a leading global water technology company dedicated to solving the worlds most challenging water issues, today issued a statement regarding the California Department of Water Resources official snowpack report. The Company is calling on lawmakers to take steps needed to accelerate the use of drought-mitigation applications, including water reuse and recycling technologies.
Statement of Keel Robinson, North America Marketing and Business Development Manager for Xylem:
The April 1 California Department of Water Resources snowpack results confirm what we already know: California is facing a water crisis that has the potential to severely impact the state for years to

The Fed announced that it would not immediately raise interest rates, resulting in a short rise in sweet crude prices.
MARKET WATCH: NYMEX crude oil prices have short rally
By: Paula Dittrick (OGJ)
US light, sweet crude prices rose more than $1/bbl on Mar. 18 after the US Federal Reserve said it was in no rush to raise interest rates. But crude futures quickly gave up that one-day gain in early Mar. 19 trading with renewed concerns about ample oil supplies.
The US Energy Information Administration said the estimated weekly oil inventory as of Mar. 13 was 458.5 million bbl, which marked a gain of 9.6 million bbl.
The latest petroleum status report said US refinery inputs averaged more than 15.4 million b/d, which was an estimated 136,000 b/d more than the previous weeks average. Refineries operated at 88.1% of capacity last week. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging about 9.8 million b/d.
In the separate gas storage report released Mar. 19, EIA estimated working gas